We cover the TV News biz of Little Rock and the Ark-La-Tex(Shreveport,LA) AND Northwest Arkansas TOO!

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

New KARK Morning Team Revealed

Just got back from the land of no internet AND several tipsters have e-mailed saying that KARK is now airing promos of their new morning team. It looks as though Matt Mosler will be making his way back to the Arkansas morning airwaves AND Melissa Simas, Tracy Douglass, and Mike Francis will be along side of him in the mornings on KARK. This could be a good move on KARK's part, bringing in Matt with a big following in Arkansas with it all being made even bigger by KATV giving him the boot several years ago. If I have my info right, Matt and Melissa should began their new jobs the fist week in September.

Since the esteemed moderator of this blog doesn't find the July ratings worthy of an entry, I'd like to congratulate Channel 7 on winning every time slot.

The new team at KARK morning will probably take some viewers away from both 7 and 11 for a while but if it is not a good product people will tend to go back to whatever they were watching. Channel 7 winning in the mornings was probably a fluke anyway. Their show is getting better but they definitely are much stronger at the evening shows.

Say what you want about July ratings, but THV's morning loss to KATV has put blood in the water.Both 7 and 4 now see opportunity in the a.m. after years of 11 dominance. THV had better rally the troops or July will be a trend and not a fluke.

its official.the audas house is now in disaray,liz knows sumthing is up and our newsroom is a place you do not want to be.dawns return willbe great this fall but the sniping that is being said in the buildin g is rampid

"Say what you want about July ratings, but THV's morning loss to KATV has put blood in the water.Both 7 and 4 now see opportunity in the a.m. after years of 11 dominance. THV had better rally the troops or July will be a trend and not a fluke."

Go back 6 years and look at the ratings that Matt and Julie had. Now look a a year or two before that and compare.... Matt and Julie started to decline when THV seated BJ, Robyn and Tom in '98. They had 1 or 2 decent books after Ron Sherman left in '96, but all in all started to decline when THV put the three together. KATV had a good July book. But that's July. Whenever they can win a November, February or May, then it will matter to the folks that pay for the advertising. KARK will more than likely pass KATV, but still remain back in second behind THV. It'll be interesting. KATV didn't win EVERY time slot. They Tied at 6AM and were second at 5AM. What kept 7 afloat were the 50 + demos. They always win those because of habit. Go look at your ratings book and find out for yourselves. I wouldn't put a lot of stock in July numbers... but if you want to call it a win, well, it's a win.

THV appears to rely heavily on young married folks, women, and people with kids. Kids have to be up early to go to school September-May. Hence, so do their parents. KATV's viewers, on the other hand, tend to skew towards the 50+ set. What happens when they pass on from this world?

Matt was a failure at 7 and he will be at 4 as well. I cannot believe KARK thinks this is a good move! They've listened too much to those Saline County Holy Rollers who have championed Matt and Julie since they were let go! I'm sure their numbers will improve in Saline County....but that's it!

Let me sum up Matt Mosler and Julie Mayberry in the mornings....once and for all.....LOSERS!!! Get that through your head Benton!!!

I agree with 2:15. I blame Matt and Julie for Daybreak's ratings decline more so than any talent since. Matt and Julie were handed one of America's top local morning shows. They were so incredibly stale that viewers slowly but surely began switching to the upstart THV program and have never looked back....even when KATV finally canned Matt and Julie for better hosts!

Matt and Julie were collossal failures on Daybreak, and as if KARK could afford to slide down any further....that's where they're now headed. Lately I've been bragging on KARK for improving their news product. This is a step back for sure!

I worked with Matt and Julie at KATV and I can honestly say, they are the nicest people and two of the most talented on-air personalities ever. First of all, it was terrible the way they got fired. Secondly, after it happened, viewers told me what a dumb mistake it was by 7, how sad they were to see them go and how they were going to switch to one of the other stations to boycott. Every book was a good book with Matt and Julie on the air. The ratings "decline" started after they left. They left in May, I remember that next book, Daybreak had slipped, as predicted. Even now, people ask me what happened to Matt & Julie and that was more than 5 years ago and I'm not even in the LR market anymore.

3:04- those viewers you talked to were probably their friends in Saline County...their opinions don't count!

Listen, I'm not disputing their character or how friendly they are....although they didn't go quietly and with class when they were fired. They ran to Saline County and got everyone feeling sorry for them!

I'll tell you where they belong....That new TV-95 in Benton!:) Now....that's where they would definetly succeed!!

3:11 - Yes, some were from Saline County, but not the majority. I had people from numerous areas of the state voice their concerns and objections.

And, they couldn't have left with more class. They didn't call anybody out on air, they both left the station quietly and with dignity and even when I spoke with them afterwards they were thankful for the time they had at Channel 7. They didn't run back to Saline County for a pity party.

The bashing on here needs to stop. Matt and Julie are both good people who got the shaft when they were let go. Now, I do have to point out that the ratings DID decline BEFORE they were let go, that is probably why they were let go. But, after they left, it just got worse. Dale couldn't handle any of his newscasts being #2, and when Daybreak was beat a few books in a row by THV, that's when they were cut loose.

And as far as making fun of their faith, doesn't Jason Harper and his wife have a ministry downtown? And Tom Brannon and his wife drink the kool aid at Fellowship Bible Church. Leave Matt and Julie alone.

They're nice people. I don't think anyone disputes that. I do disagree with the person who says they didn't go to Benton for a pity party, They did and it was pathetic!! The problem is, like one person said earlier, they are STALE!! There is nothing to them but being nice people with nice smiles. They don't grab viewers. It's called mediocrity. That's why they got canned, and they should have been canned.

Maybe Matt and Melissa will be good together, but it will be Melissa who puts them over the top- if it happens. Matt will bring some Benton viewers with him, but that's all he has to offer.

a. go to work for a competitor, b. go work in another market, or c. completely disappear from the public eye....aka GO AWAY!

Matt and Julie didn't do any of those things, which is why people accurately say they held a pity party hosted by their church friends in Benton. The Saline County media championed their cause, with Matt and Julie's full endorsement. Matt and Julie paraded around the area with the full intent of having everyone pat them on the head and feel sorry for them.

Folks, that is a pity party. This was a long one too. It's been no more than a couple of years since it quieted down! It was a little before then that Julie Mayberry began to write for a local religious rag that bore her picture on the cover. That serves nothing but to remind the people there of how she was "mistreated" by the big bad 7.

Sorry, they don't serve kool-aid at FBC... 'more like Starbucks Coffee. If Jason and his wife have a ministry downtown, that's great! At least they have one. Too many of you worship at the 'First Church of The Living BLOG.' Matt and Julie are GREAT people. They didn't deserve the treatment they received from the cowardly Dale Nicholson and what is being stated on this blog. They do have a lot of fans and Matt will do well at KARK. He feels blessed that he can work in this market again after what happened. Give he and Julie a break.

And post 3:04 - Go back and research your ratings. Why would they have been let go if the ratings hadn't fallen? Job security = rising ratings. The ratings dropped significantly because of "upstart THV." I wish Matt well, I wish Dale could be dropped from his position so he would know how they felt.

So has the Benton Courier done an "Extra" on the hiring of Matt Mosler by KARK?? That whole county is pathetic with the way they handled all that years ago! That "Save Matt and Julie" campaign was unbelievable to witness. Now here we go again! The good-ol-boy network in Benton is gonna be encouraged and people in local churches will be told how their voices and prayers made the difference in Matt being hired again. And, of course they'll all be told to watch KARK now and be scorned if they don't.

They weren't re-hired for years, and Julie still hasn't been hired. I'm quite positive it's got a lot to do with the post-firing whining. They're stale, but they're not bad as TV personalities. They could certainly work in smaller markets.

KARK is desperate to put familiar faces back on their airwaves. That's why Matt Mosler got the call. I'm quite certain several oldtimers like Dave Woodman, Steve Barnes, Margaret Preston, Ron Sherman, etc. were contacted but showed no interest. Matt was the first of the long-goners to say yes.

If you get branded as hard to fire, in any industry, it can be difficult for you to continue in your career. You can ask Nolan Richardson.

I know for a fact that Matt and Julie have been "blackballed" in this market for a while not because they didn't go quietly from KATV. KARK is run by outsiders, and that helped Matt get this opportunity. No local TV exec that witnessed the aftermath of Matt and Julie's firing from KATV was going to touch either of them.

4:04 is right. The best thing you can do if you are fired from TV is leave town and work in another market, unless another station is immediately going to pick you up. If you stay in town, you give the perception that you're not desired and your career can take a big tumble. It's been years between TV jobs for Matt Mosler for that reason. Don't let this happen to you!

Matt and Julie were PERFECTLY capable of getting TV jobs in other areas. Them staying around and causing such a fuss really makes me wonder if they believed they could whine their way back into their jobs??

When I noticed TV-95 down in Benton had a morning show, I immediately wondered why they didn't hire Matt and/or Julie to host! From what I was told, the owner wanted his 15 minutes of fame and chose to host himself. Matt and Julie would have done very well for them.

Here we go again with lots of name bashing. I guess that's what people do when they really have nothing intelligent to say. (hey .. I didn't mention any names)

The new line-up looks interesting, although I'm confused by the preoccupation with Matt and Melissa. From my 4 years here in Arkansas, I believe Tracy Douglass to be one of the best on-air talents I've seen. She could easily fit into a top twenty market. I hope they make some format changes to the show ... like a little less weather and more interaction among the four of them.We'll see ..

I hope you are kidding about the promo. It ties the Local News to the Today Show. It's one of the best promos that I've seen since moving to the area. I agree about the format though. I think there should be more commerical time and don't forget RNR.

I don't like the promos for KARK Today OR the Today show. They're stinky! They're too much like the ones they had when Katie was there. Note to promotions: GET A NEW GIMMICK! Nobody wants to see Meredith, Matt, Al, and especially Ann dancing around and hugging and I sure as heck don't need to see Mike and Matt doing it either.

Well, I am not in the television business, but I do enjoy reading this blog. I have to say that I firmly believe that it was very wrong of KATV to fire Matt Mosler and Julie Mayberry. In fact, I felt it was so wrong that I emailed then-newsproducer Bob Steel to tell him that he had just made a MAJOR mistake. He actually emailed back to say that it was done primarily for business reasons, i.e. ratings. But, I sensed that it was something that he personally didn't want to do. (Note to you people who are dissing Matt & Julie. Whether the ratings went down right before or after they left, the point is that not only did they go down, THEY CONTINUED TO GO DOWN LONG AFTER THEY WERE GONE. Seems to me that you can't simply correlate the ratings slide to the effectiveness of those two individuals.)

I live in Hot Springs and listen to Matt on KLAZ every morning. I am quite aware of his religious beliefs, but he NEVER comes across as preachy or holier than thou. In fact, he seems to be a very down-to-earth, genuine person.

I'm just a viewer, but I can generally sense when things are moving in a positive or negative direction. This is a very positive move on KARK's part; and I am so sure that it is that I predict a year from now you guys will be talking about what a great year it was for Channel 4 ratings-wise in the mornings. Write it down, mark your calendars, and let's revisit the subject a year from now. Matt, Melissa & Tracy will make this thing work.

It's true about the July ratings not being worth an entry. No advertiser looks at them or buys from them because a significant chunk of the target demographics are on vacation or doing something else. They're not a reliable barometer of the summertime audience. Why they continue to do them is a mystery.

The comment about other stations not touching Matt or Julie is not true. THV approached Julie about a position and she turned it down. This was about a year ago. She would have been an asset to their station and they know it. The Matt and Julie bashers are probably from 7 trying to cover up the fact that it was a mistake to let them go. They haven't done well in the ratings since they left (even though they were declining with Matt and Julie, it was a total disaster after they left.) I know 7 basically tied with 11 in July, but this was the first time in how many years? I am a loyal THV morning veiwer, and nobody can make me turn the channel. Matt and Juie are not deserving of all these negative comments.

Matt told me that was contemplating a move into full time ministry. He shared that information with Bob Steele as well. Matt might have orchestrated his own demise. Julie and Matt are good people. People can blame THEM. Blame KATV. Blame the VIEWERS. YES!. If the viewers had stuck with Matt and Julie, this discussion would be about how many years the program had been successful.

Whatever to the last few comments! It's interesting that Julie was approached by THV about a year ago??? Hmmm....YEARS after the firing! If they were so great.....why weren't they snatched up right away??? They are LOSERS....and they ruined their careers by being such BABIES when they were fired. They'll never be a major players again in this market. KARK won't see any significant bump in more than one book.

All this talk about ratings is ridiculous. I don't trust the ratings in this market becuase it is a flawed measuring system. Now if the LR DMA was metered, then we would have more to talk. It is well known that KTHV has the older folks, KATV has all the minorities from Pine Bluff and KARK has a lot of the SW part of the state.

As far as Matt Mosler coming onto KARK, it is worth a shot as far as the bosses are concerned. You'll never know unless you take a chance and step out to do something different.

This bashing Saline County and holy rollers is stupid kid stuff. Grow up!

Whatever to the last few comments! It's interesting that Julie was approached by THV about a year ago??? Hmmm....YEARS after the firing! If they were so great.....why weren't they snatched up right away???

Because they probably had a non-compete clause in their contract. Which says they cant work in the market for a set period of time after the contract expires. Pretty standard stuff in TV contracts. Usually run about 6 months to a year. So nobody could touch them for a while and after that the need to fill a hole may have passed.

On another note....If I was Mike Francis, I'd be getting a little worried. How many meteorologists do you need on the set in the mornings? Talk about a train wreck.

Clint Stoerner got a second shot at Tennessee.Robert Johnson is about to get a second shot at USC.Why shouldn't Matt Mosler get a second shot at morning TV?Like Johnson, if things go well Mosler will stay QB of the show. If not, KARK will be looking for a Mustain.See...it all comes back to Razorback football! Go Hogs!!!

Despite the contentions, Matt and Julie had a lot of fans outside of Saline County. Their show was slipping because THV was doing a good job marketing their show and had a very morning friendly group (not too serious yet not so bouncy they make your head hurt).

THV snatched the near eternal morning lead that KATV had been holding on to. KATV elected to test the Hindenburg for gas leaks by using a lit match. Instead of slowly working other people in to replace the two they just dropped the axe. Ya gotta be pretty dang ignorant to think the morning audience is EVER going to react well to abrupt change.

As to Barbara Roberts, well hats off to KARK. They could have just canned her when her medical issues arose and instead they made the effort to accomodate her. She got to do a great sign-off explaining why she was scaling back her work load and really puffed up her bosses for being accomodating. Then as gravy on top KARK even had enough sense to allow for a transition period.

For the record Mosler is a north of the river Pulaski County person. Nice guy and all but I expect to be shopping a new morning show because I doubt I can tolerate Meredith Viera on the Today show so if I switch 7:00 am shows it will almost certainly mean switching 5:30 am shows.

In regards to the posting by anonymous on 12:17 PM, August 26, 2006 regarding Melissa Simas and Yankees. I am always curious as to what kind of person makes such comments. Perhaps you had an unhappy childhood ... maybe you were often beat up by bullies on your way to school ... or worse ... maybe you were a bully yourself? Naturally I'm assuming you are of the male gender (notice I did not use the word Man, since I suspect that would be an inappropriate label in your case).Your reference to her voice only validates the obvious conclusion that you have a hearing defect.Your reference to Melissa and a "stick" is also fascinating since it is clear that you lave a log in your eye or perhaps a foot in your mouth. And finally your conclusion that she is a Yankee is the only accurate statement you made, and after reading your comments I'm sure it is a fact she is proud to admit.

I am someone who has more or less lived in Arkansas for the past year and is involved with news industry. I also happen to be a northener -- which is why when someone told me about this site and some things being said about Melissa Simas I felt compelled to check it out for myself.

First of all, the person or people who mention her northern roots as a negative thing need to get a grip. Stop hating people because they choose to live and work in Arkansas. It's not a bad thing. And it's not our fault that we have the Red Sox and you don't (although these days it's probably better not to have them.)

I have watched all the newscasts since being down here and here is my evaluation of Melissa Simas: she is one of the most talented, professional newscasters in Arkansas.

And that's all that matters. This stuff about being from up north and her voice being monotone (which simply isn't true) is all garbage and without merit. I believe it is being thrown out there by a jealous colleague or competitor.

Surely, the industry is above this petty name calling. Melissa Simas is good at what she does and I believe KARK is doing itself a favor anytime they call on her.